"Parents located in North London seeks an remarkable and qualified tutor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily miss the wording "initial stages" as just an expression.
But, it may be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been sent in since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted attention throughout the news, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that despite first doubt, he found the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to instil.
He explained the tutor must be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who have similar reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transplant the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
